EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF
PHARMACEUTICAL AND MEDICAL RESEARCH

( An ISO 9001:2015 Certified International Journal )

An International Peer Reviewed Journal for Pharmaceutical, Medical & Biological Sciences

An Official Publication of Society for Advance Healthcare Research (Reg. No. : 01/01/01/31674/16)

European Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research (EJPMR) has indexed with various reputed international bodies like : Google Scholar , Indian Science Publications , InfoBase Index (In Process) , SOCOLAR, China , Research Bible, Fuchu, Tokyo. JAPAN , International Society for Research activity (ISRA) , Scientific Indexing Services (SIS) , Polish Scholarly Bibliography , Global Impact Factor (GIF) (Under Process) , Universal Impact Factor , International Scientific Indexing (ISI), UAE , Index Copernicus , CAS (A Division of American Chemical Society) USA (Under Process) , Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ, Sweden, in process) , UDLedge Science Citation Index , CiteFactor , Directory Of Research Journal Indexing (DRJI) , Indian citation Index (ICI) , Journal Index (JI, Under Process) , Directory of abstract indexing for Journals (DAIJ) , Open Access Journals (Under Process) , Impact Factor Services For International Journals (IFSIJ) , Cosmos Impact Factor , Jour Informatics (Under Process) , Eurasian Scientific Journal Index (ESJI) , International Innovative Journal Impact Factor (IIJIF) , Science Library Index, Dubai, United Arab Emirates , Pubmed Database [NLM ID: 101669306] (Under Process) , IP Indexing (IP Value 2.40) , Web of Science Group (Under Process) , Directory of Research Journals Indexing , Scholar Article Journal Index (SAJI) , International Scientific Indexing ( ISI ) , Scope Database , Academia ,

ISSN 2394-3211

Impact Factor: 7.065

ICV - 79.57

Abstract

EFFECT OF EXAMINATION STRESS ON CORTISOL LEVEL AND ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES: ABDOMEN FAT DISTRIBUTION AND BODY MASS INDEX AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Mohamed Ebsaim*, Marwa Algotre, Fatima Omar, Ahlam Alazumi and Fatima Faruon

ABSTRACT

Background: Examination stress has become an important issue in academic circle, particularly among university students. It is considered as crucial factor in increasing the level of circulating cortisol hormone which in turn has an effect on the changes in body form such as abdomen fat distribution and BMI among academic students. Objective: To investigate whether the academic examination stress affects the cortisol levels and stress-related changes in body form, particularly abdomen fat distribution and body mass index among university students. Methods: Forty-one students (14 males and 27 females) aged 18 to 23years were selected from Zawia University faculty of medical technology to perform this study. Cortisol level was measured at the beginning of the academic semester and 12 weeks later during the examination period using Cabas e411 analyser. Abdomen fat distribution determined by waist to hip ratio (WHR) and BMI were measured pre, during and post the exams period. Results: Serum cortisol increased significantly during the exams (P<0.01) in all students. The changes in WHR and BMI showed significant result P<0.01 among most students during and after the exams. However, no significant different observed in WHR among boys. There was significant correlation between cortisol and WHR (P<0.01), and between the cortisol and BMI (P<0.05) among students during the exams period. Change in cortisol secretion during the exams period was positively associated with changes in WHR and BMI among students. Conclusion: Academic examination stress was implicated in increasing the hyperactivity of cortisol secretion, which has been shown to increase central fat and weight gain in students during and post the exams period.

Keywords: Stress, University Students, Cortisol Level, Waist-To-Hip Ratio (WHR) and Body Mass Index (BMI).

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